User blog:GFreeman/Freedom Machine
|unlock = 77 |slot = 2 |price = $979,000 |mag = 200 |type = Portable Heavy Machine Gun |max_ammo = 200 |rate_of_fire = 750 |reload_time = 10.8 seconds |damage = 1000 |accuracy = 6 |stability = 0 |concealment = 0 |threat = 101 }} The Freedom Machine is a custom weapon intended for use in PAYDAY 2. Overview The Freedom Machine is a special heavy weapon and physically the longest weapon available in the game length-wise. Right off the bat, the Freedom Machine is a very unusual weapon to use, but when used correctly it can be an extremely powerful situational tool, capable of mowing down entire waves of enemies without stopping. The most notable traits of the Freedom Machine are massive damage per shot, far surpassing any other weapon, and its huge size. The weapon can be augmented further with Bullet Storm and Swan Song Aced, as the machine gun can dish out an incredible amount of damage in the free-fire time the skills provide. However, the weapon does come with severe drawbacks as well to compensate for its strengths. First off, the Freedom Machine is so unwieldy, that one must be standing still in aiming mode to fire it. Exacerbating this is the weapon's absolutely abysmal accuracy, usually resulting is a hit accuracy of 10% or lower on most heists, and while it has a sizable ammo pool, the reload is incredibly long and requires one to stand in one spot to do, which can expose the player to enemy attacks. It also cannot receive ammo from pickups, meaning it is only viable when the team has an Enforcer, preferably with aced Ammunition Specialist. Ironically, while the weapon is extremely inefficient with ammo consumption, it makes very efficient use of ammo bags because ammo bags restore a percentage of total ammunition rather than a fixed number of rounds. It is also very heavy, and will reduce the player's speed to 40%, slowing down the player three times as much as the LMGs do, and about as much even when not equipped. However, the Freedom Machine's weight can be reduced to around LMG weight by equipping both the Aircraft Barrel and Lite Crate, at the cost of accuracy and having 40% of its normal magazine and ammo pool. The Freedom Machine's reload time is not modified by tactical reloading, taking a flat 10.8 seconds regardless of whether the magazine is empty or still has ammunition remaining. Summary Pros: *Reasonable rate-of-fire *Huge magazine size and max ammo count *Massive damage per shot *Very high threat levels and extreme rate of fire allows it to suppress incoming enemies in short order * Muscle perk deck bonuses work for an excellent panic spread. Cons: *No sight, even the aiming "zoom" is nominal at best *The low accuracy and high recoil stats requires the user to stand still and aim in to fire with anything resembling a modicum of accuracy, more so than any other weapon in the game *Small mod pool and mods do very little to alleviate the weapon's glaring shortcomings *Cannot pick up ammunition drops, relying heavily on ammo bags *Three times as heavy as regular LMGs by default *Very slow reload while incapable of performing a tactical magazine change **Can only be reloaded while standing still *Extreme recoil during protracted firing *Abysmal concealment total that cannot be effectively enhanced *Can't be hipfired or used on the move Tips *Equip a laser sight to help with aiming. *As with most LMGs, the Freedom Machine's recoil brings the weapon muzzle up and to the right, so aiming low and to the left deliberately can help compensate for this. It is possible to "brace" the weapon by pulling one's aim downwards and to the left during a long burst to counteract the recoil. *Due to the restrictive weight of the Freedom Machine, one has to stand still in aiming mode to actually fire it. Heavy armor might come in handy here, despite them reducing the already horrible mobility even lower. *Always bring one or more ammo bags as the Freedom Machine does not replenish any via pickups. **Bullet Storm is a great supplementary skill for ammo bag-focused players as it grants them a cumulative of 30 seconds of unlimited ammo for the two bags that can be deployed. **Swan Song is an alternative option for Fugitives. *As it reduces walking speed even more so than LMGs, it is recommended to utilize every weight-reducing mod it has, or equip a secondary weapon to travel large distances if the machine gun is not currently needed. Available modifications Barrel= : '' .}} |-|Magazine= : '' .}} |-|Gadget= Achievements law enforcers with the Freedom Machine.}} Trivia *The Freedom Machine was based on the Browning M2HB heavy machine gun. The two Barrel modifications are based on those of the Browning M2 Aircraft and M2 Water-cooled Flexible. *Like the Vulcan Minigun, a real-life Browning M2 is extremely ill-advised to wield as a man-portable platform due to the combined weight of the unit and ammo can easily cause arm and spinal damage if not physically strong enough to lift the whole thing (an unloaded M2 weighs 38lbs., and 200 rounds of .50BMG adds another 23). In addition to this, the excessive recoil generated per shot is very likely to cause self-injury if fired for any meaningful amount of time. *The in-game name of the weapon and its associated achievement is a reference to the jokes about the United State's method of delivering "freedom" to third-world countries by way of excessive firepower and conflicts. Gallery BrowningM2.png|The default Freedom Machine BrowningM2-SB.png|The Freedom Machine with its Aircraft Barrel BrowningM2-WCB.png|The Freedom Machine with its Water-cooled Barrel Category:Blog posts